


How not to confess to your longtime best friend

by blasphemia



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, I'm sorry idk what tags to use, Love Confessions, M/M, Supposedly-sort-of-canon compliant, i mean i'm p sure this is just fluff and nothing else, soft and fun and light, that's what I was going for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-20
Updated: 2016-11-20
Packaged: 2018-08-31 17:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8588005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blasphemia/pseuds/blasphemia
Summary: When Oikawa Tooru finally got it together and confessed his feelings to his best friend thorough his whole life, he had expected things to change significantly; except the confession didn’t exactly go as planned. Oikawa had prepared for the worst, he thought, but what he hadn’t prepared for was his friend outright denying the authenticity of his feelings. Luckily, Oikawa doesn’t give up that quickly. After all, if you’re going to hit it, you’ve got to hit it until it breaks.





	

**Author's Note:**

> hey!! this was just a little thing i wrote some time ago bc i got the idea for the summary and wanted to write something from it, and some time ago i reread and fixed the biggest mistakes bc i wanted to show it to a friend. but now i'm like, i'm not gonna work further on it and i want to get it out of my life. it really was just a side project and nothing serious but it was super fun to write as i was procrastinating doing something else, lmao.  
> my hope for posting this is just that someone else will enjoy reading as much as i enjoyed writing. it's pretty light and fun so i hope you won't judge it too hard lmao but ye, it was super fun!  
> and i wrote it before karasuno actually went to tokyo for nationals in the manga (which they did recently) so im like.. at that time it was supposed to be able to fit into the storyline. haha. 
> 
> I JUST WANT TO SAY TO TITLES: EAT MY ENTIRE ASS. I DON'T NEED TITLES. I HATE TITLES.  
> i'm very indecisive sorry
> 
> hope you enjoy!

”So, what is it that was so important that you couldn’t just tell me on our way home from practice?” Iwaizumi said, leaning up against one of the tables in the empty classroom. Tooru took a deep breath to gain some courage before stepping inside the door, entering the classroom. There was no turning back now.

”I promise it’s important, Iwa-chan,” he said, keeping his voice casual. Iwaizumi just raised an eyebrow, his question still unanswered.

Of course, he probably wouldn’t be able to guess just why Tooru had asked to meet him; unless he already knew about Tooru feelings and, if so, he was either very good at concealing it or he just didn’t care. Tooru felt like he knew him better than that, and he really doubted that was the case.

It had taken Tooru quite a while to actually muster up the courage to _tell_ Iwaizumi this – what if he turned Tooru down, what if he laughed in his face? He had tried to weigh all the pros and cons and in the end he realised that no matter what, the right thing to do was to tell him how he felt. Tooru wouldn’t be able to hold it in any longer.

Tooru had been confessed to quite a few times and he had learned a trick or two from that – he wanted it to be special and he had read enough shoujo mangas to know how it should ideally go. There were still a few weeks for cherry blossom season if he wanted it to be completely perfect and technically he _could_ wait, but he didn’t have the patience in him to do so. Time seemed to fly by so quickly nowadays and if he didn’t do something about it soon, their last moments together would be over before he knew, slipping through his fingers and he’d stand back regretting not having taken any of the chances he had been handed. Maybe he’d even have to say goodbye when it was time for them to start university. In the end, Tooru had decided that this was more important than whatever pride he still had left after the loss against Karasuno.

“Well, is it gonna be today or can I go home?” Iwaizumi asked impatiently and Tooru’s eyes flew up to his face. It was late afternoon – the practice had been longer than usual and since Tooru had asked him to meet after practice, they had also stayed back and helped with cleaning the gym. The late afternoon sun shone in through the windows, bathing the classroom in a soft orange glow and, really, it would be romantic if it didn’t pretty much blind Tooru and made it impossible for him to see anything but Iwaizumi’s dark silhouette. He stepped further into the room so he could turn to Iwaizumi without getting the sun right in his eyes and gave him the most charming smile he could muster while being this nervous. He put his hands in his pockets, scared that they’d start shaking like some girls’ did, and then he turned to Iwaizumi.

“I’m in love with you,” he breathed out, hoping the hoarseness of his voice sounded more tender than nervous – hell, he hoped it was audible enough for Iwaizumi to hear, because he really didn’t want to say it again, at least not in this circumstance. He was still standing leaned over, ready to run for it and trying to calm his nerves by breathing deeply.

Iwaizumi was staring at him, his expression still not yet changed from the tired one from before as he processed the words. This didn’t really put Tooru off, since he knew that it took Iwaizumi a while to really understand things if they shocked him like this. Then again, it could also mean that he was thinking about _how_ to react and that meant his first reaction _wasn’t_ to come running into Tooru’s arms, kissing him senseless. When Iwaizumi shifted his weight from one leg to the other, Tooru looked up quickly, regretting that he hadn’t been keeping eye contact, but he didn’t have much time to stay on that thought before Iwaizumi lifted up his bag and threw it over his shoulder, walking out of the room before Tooru could even think about stopping him.

After a few seconds, Tooru body caught up to his thoughts and he closed his mouth, running after him.

“Iwa-chan, where are you going?!” he asked, his voice a bit too shrill to come off as relaxed.

“Home, where else?” Iwaizumi said, loud enough for Tooru to hear, but not slowing down.

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” Tooru asked, slowing down to a walk when he finally caught up to Iwaizumi.

“You’re shitting me, right?” Iwaizumi said, turning his face to look at Tooru with an eyebrow raised, neither looking happy nor disgusted. None of the scenarios he had expected. Tooru had prepared for the worst-case scenario, that Iwaizumi would be disgusted and/or angry. He had hoped for the best, that Iwaizumi would smile at him, like he did when Tooru really deserved it, the smile that made his breath hitch and made him realise his feelings in the first place. He hadn’t really planned for anything in between.

“What?” Tooru forced the word out in strain, frowning.

“Oikawa, it’s too late for this,” Iwaizumi said, rolling his eyes as if it was just another of Tooru’s jokes.

“You don’t feel the same? It’s okay, Iwa-chan, I just had to tell you,” Tooru said, trying to keep his tone light-hearted because _of course_ he would mind, but he could accept it – he had to. Iwaizumi stopped, standing in the middle of the pavement, and it took Tooru two more steps before he reacted and stopped himself, turning around too look at him.

“Stop, Oikawa. I don’t want to play your games, okay?” Iwaizumi said, furrowing his brows in annoyance. Tooru opened his mouth to reply, but Iwaizumi started walking again at a brisk pace, and Tooru had to turn around and jog after him to keep up.

It took his mind a bit longer to keep up this time – Iwaizumi _hadn’t_ turned him down. He hadn’t said yes either. It seemed more like he just refused to acknowledge the confession. Like he didn’t believe in Tooru’s words.

Tooru turned his face towards Iwaizumi instantly. “Iwa-chan, you _don’t believe me_?” he asked, bafflement apparent in his voice.

“Can we not do this today?” Iwaizumi asked, faking a yawn. Tooru pouted, grabbing his arm and letting Iwaizumi drag him down the street, something that was normal enough between them for Iwaizumi to not react differently than usual.

“I promise, I’ll prove to you that my feelings are sincere,” Tooru said, realising that talking in higher octaves for theatrical effect probably didn’t help make him look more legit.

“Sure. Will you let go? We already passed your house,” Iwaizumi said and Tooru stopped, nearly dragging Iwaizumi back with him, but releasing his grip on his arm before doing so.

“Oh,” Tooru said, looking back at his house down the street.

“See you tomorrow,” Iwaizumi just said, not taking time for a proper goodbye like this was just another normal day. Tooru stared after him as he walked down the street, not looking back.

“I’ll prove it to you, I swear!” Tooru yelled, just before Iwaizumi turned down the street to his own house and Iwaizumi waved back, not even bothering with a reply. Tooru smiled, a new hope rising in him, as he turned around and walked back to his own place.

Iwaizumi hadn’t turned him down – he hadn’t really accepted his feelings either, but Tooru was never known as someone who gave up that easily and he wasn’t planning on changing that. After all, if you’re going to hit it, you’ve got to hit it until it breaks.

 

When Tooru arrived at school the next day, he began feeling slightly nervous again. Not as much as he had been the day before when he had finally gained the courage and confessed, bared his feelings, put it out in the open for Iwaizumi to ravage or accept – _not_ for him to ignore or deny. But now Iwaizumi had had a whole night to think it through and Tooru hoped – and feared – that he had come to a conclusion, preferably that he felt the same.

But when Tooru sat down in their shared classroom, his table right behind Iwaizumi’s, his best friend simply waved at him when he came in, then proceeded with reading his book. Of course, Tooru wasn’t going to let him go that easily, instead walking over and dragging an arm around Iwaizumi’s shoulders with a deep sigh.

“Have you been thinking about it, Iwa-chan? Or are you going to leave me aching even longer?” Tooru asked. Iwaizumi pushed his arm off of his shoulder and turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Are you still joking about that?” he asked and Tooru couldn’t help but snort. So he had decided to keep up denying the truth. Just perfect.

“I’m still not joking, Iwa-chan,” he said, pushing out his lips in a pout when his friend simply turned back to reading the book again, ignoring him. This time, when Tooru put his arm around his shoulder, he nuzzled his face into the crook between Iwaizumi’s shoulder and neck, inhaling the fresh smell of his shampoo. Iwaizumi still shared shampoo with his family and Tooru knew that his mother always bought one with honey and flowers. Tooru probably would use the same one just for the smell if he hadn’t found one that simply did wonders for his own hair – volume was important to him and he could get the nice smell from Iwaizumi or when he stole Iwaizumi’s sweaters.

When Tooru thought about it, he realised that he had probably been pretty into him for quite a while.

“Sure, you’re not. Did you read the homework for today?” Iwaizumi asked, pushing Tooru away as if Tooru normally did stuff like that, still looking down at the book in front of him, obviously not having read the pages for today himself.

“Of course I have,” Tooru said, sitting down in his seat again. “You know I’ll help you with it if you ask nicely,” he said, winking even though Iwaizumi had his back turned at him. The bell rang for class to start and only a few seconds later, the teacher walked in. Tooru stared at Iwaizumi’s back as his friend started skimming slightly faster. So, Iwaizumi _still_ didn’t want to believe in him, so he hadn’t moved forward from yesterday – he wasn’t denying or outright ignoring Tooru more than usual either, though, so Tooru could only assume that he was pretty much stuck in the same place as yesterday. With a sigh, he grabbed for his own schoolbook in his backpack, turning his attention to the teacher.

 

At lunch, Tooru and Iwaizumi did as they usually did – ate their bento boxes, today in the cafeteria, since the wind made it too cold for them to do it at the usual spot on the school rooftop.

“So,” Tooru said out loud, to garner interest from his audience. Neither of his friends looked up, Iwaizumi focusing on his rice, Matsukawa on his phone and Hanamaki was looking at his nails, making it quite obvious that he was ignoring Tooru – the tiny smirk that grew on his lips when Tooru stared at him didn’t miss Tooru’s attention either, but he couldn’t do anything but pout about it when his friend was refusing to give him any attention. Then, he got another idea. “I confessed to Iwa-chan,” Tooru said out loud, crossing his arms over his chest. Matsukawa instantly looked up from his phone, eyebrows raised and Hanamaki chuckled as Iwaizumi dropped his chopsticks.

“Nice!” Hanamaki and Matsukawa said simultaneously and Makki lifted his hand for a high five that Tooru instantly met with his own palm and a chuckle of his own.

“Ugh, don’t encourage him guys,” Iwaizumi said as he picked up his chopsticks again. Matsukawa raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Tooru with a knowing expression.

“Oh, so that’s how it is?” He asked. Tooru nodded with a sigh.

“Don’t worry – I’ll beat it into his thick skull at some point, we all know how dense Iwa-chan is,” he said. Matsukawa rolled his eyes and Hanamaki snickered as Tooru yelped after Iwaizumi stomped his foot.

“Mean! Don’t encourage _him_ , Makki!” Tooru said as Hanamaki’s snicker turned into a full-blown laughter. “I can’t believe this his what I get from confessing my feelings!” Tooru complained, his voice shrill, and once again he wondered if such an easy-going approach to it was the right way – of course he understood that Iwaizumi doubted his sincerity when he was also joking around with it. But honestly, Tooru already felt bared enough as it was. He had to joke around to keep from getting too nervous about it – and Iwaizumi _still_ hadn’t acknowledged him at all. Not that Tooru was anywhere near giving up – after all, if you’re going to hit it, you’ve got to hit it until it breaks.

 

It had been almost a week ago since Tooru confessed his feelings – almost a week ago since Iwaizumi denied his sincerity and wrote the whole thing off as a joke.

Tooru still hadn’t come closer to making Iwaizumi believe him. Of course, he had become more and more courageous about showing affection in public and Iwaizumi only really pushed him away when he overdid it, which Tooru took as a positive sign.

There were good things about having your feelings out in the open too – like the fact that you could shamelessly stare at him without having to come up with an excuse if caught in the act.

“Looking good, Iwa-chan!” Tooru yelled as Iwaizumi was pulling his shirt up to dry the sweat off his forehead, conveniently showing off his toned stomach.

“And _you’re_ slacking off today,” Iwaizumi said, turning to him after grabbing a water bottle. “Get your head in the game,” he said before turning away again, taking a long drink from the bottle.

Tooru looked to the person standing next to him and the poor victim falling under his scrutiny was Yahaba Shigeru, the second year that was going to take over the position as captain after him. Tooru liked the kid – he reminded him of himself in some ways, respectful of his senpais, charming and hard working but not a prodigy. Tooru definitely liked him.

“I’m still pretty shocked about how none of you are commenting on the fact that I’m trying to win over Iwa-chan’s heart in broad daylight,” Tooru said, putting a hand on his hip. He had made sure to say it loud enough for Iwaizumi to hear, but he could see from the corner of his eye that Iwaizumi hadn’t visibly reacted to it.

“Well, you’re acting like you usually do, aren’t you?” Yahaba asked, tilting his head to the side and giving Tooru a little smile, as if unsure of whether or not that was the answer Tooru wanted to hear.

“Oh,” Tooru said, turning to look at Iwaizumi again, but in the meantime he had moved over, now talking to some of the first years. “So you were all just expecting Iwa-chan to reject me like this?” he asked. Yahaba turned the volleyball in his hands, looking at Tooru in confusion.

“Reject? He’s acting like usual as well,” Yahaba said, turning to look when Hanamaki yelled his name from across the gym. Tooru stuck his tongue out at Hanamaki, well aware that he was probably calling Yahaba over intentionally, but Tooru let the kid go, turning to look over at Iwaizumi again.

So, people didn’t find his behaviour different than usual. Tooru had been _that_ obvious about his crush, making it even more unbelievable that Iwaizumi still didn’t trust his words. But Tooru wasn’t the only one who was acting like usual – so basically, Iwaizumi hadn’t been… outright rejecting his flirting? Was this just… Iwaizumi’s way of playing the game? Tooru looked up instinctively when the coach called his name and he suddenly remembered that he was still mid training session – there wasn’t time to slack off. He hurriedly walked over to some first years to help them, since all four third years had mostly started using their time guiding the younger ones instead, their time at the school almost over anyway. Tooru could think of his feelings later.

 

A thing that Tooru hadn’t really considered was the prospect of other people confessing to _him_ after his own confession had taken place. He had sort of hoped for Iwaizumi to accept, for them to be officially an item and be known as the power couple of the school, but of course things weren’t that simple for him – nothing was ever that simple for Tooru.

So really, when Tooru found himself in the situation he hadn’t expected to be in again, he was unsure of what to do. He considered telling the girl – he didn’t even know her name before she told him, _Eiko_ , but he did recognise her from history class – that he was already with someone, but that would probably be considered a lie. Luckily, he was used enough to confessions and his answer came without really having to think about it.

“I’m sorry, but I’m in love with someone else,” he said, looking down at the girl with an apologetic smile, scratching the back of his head with one hand, the other one in his pocket, instead of holding both forward to accept the letter she was holding out, like he would’ve used to under normal circumstances.

“Oh,” the girl mumbled, letting go of the letter with one hand, letting the other one fall to the side, still holding it more tightly than before. “I-I hope they’ll return your feelings,” she said, turning around and walking out, her pace still calm and dignified, unlike confessors that had been pretty much running out crying. The girl had said _they_ instead of her, as if she knew it probably wasn’t another girl. It had already been made clear to Tooru that the team already knew how he acted around Iwaizumi and for a brief moment, he wondered if other people had noticed too.

The door to the classroom was knocked on, and when Tooru looked up, he was met by a welcome sight. Iwaizumi stood leaned up against the doorframe as if he had been waiitng there for a while and he had an almost suspiciously broad smile on his lips, looking like he caught Tooru with his hand in the cookie jar. Tooru raised an eyebrow, walking over to his friend.

“A new girlfriend?” Iwaizumi asked, and Tooru couldn’t help but snort at the thought, rolling his eyes. He wasn’t even sure if Iwaizumi had meant it or if he was just trying to tease Tooru.

“I confessed to you, remember?” Tooru asked, smiling at Iwaizumi, whose smirk vanished as he rolled his eyes.

“You get confessions on a weekly basis,” he just said, as if that had anything to do with it.

“I never confessed to anyone else, though – I wouldn’t do it without meaning it,” Tooru said, turning to look at Iwaizumi, his smile small but real, feeling strange but _natural_ on his face. The kind of smile he saved for moments where they were just the two of them. Iwaizumi opened his eyes, staring Tooru straight in the eyes, silent for several seconds – and for a moment, _just a moment_ , Tooru let himself hope that Iwaizumi had _finally_ given in, started believing in him. Then Iwaizumi snorted out loud again, fixing the strap of his bag more securely over his shoulder as he walked out of the classroom down the hall again. Tooru took a deep sigh to regain composure, some patience as well, and then he followed Iwaizumi again – he’d let it go for now, but he definitely wasn’t going to give up.

 

More time went by and Tooru’s courage seemed to grow by the day, making him more and more assertive in his attempts at flirting with Iwaizumi. Maybe it was because he got used to the humiliation and dejection, or maybe it was because Iwaizumi slowly started letting him do more, waiting for longer time before stopping him, sometimes not even stopping Tooru at all. Every time they sat across from each other at lunch, Tooru would reach his foot over, grazing Iwaizumi’s ankle to get his attention and then start a pretty one-sided version of footsie. Iwaizumi had kicked him once, moved his foot away a few times, but mostly he ignored Tooru. Once, Tooru’s foot had stopped moving as he had laughed at one of Hanamaki’s joke, and he could’ve sworn he felt the tip of Iwaizumi’s shoe graze his own foot this time. When he had looked up, though, Iwaizumi had been very concentrated on eating his food.

Once, Tooru had taken Iwaizumi’s hand as they sat next to each other, and Iwaizumi hadn’t let go and pulled back for several minutes. Pretty much the best four minutes and twenty three seconds in Tooru’s school life.

But that was also it – whenever Tooru would bring up feelings or a relationship or actually being _serious_ about his emotions, Iwaizumi would shut him up, ignore him, or laugh it off as a joke. While the hope was still slowly growing in him, his patience was also running out and his frustration was even bigger. No one really commented on the difference in their behaviour and Tooru knew that meant it wasn’t such a big deal as he felt it was. It was discouraging, really. Not that Tooru was close to giving up – he still had a few more tricks up his sleeve and he sure as hell wasn’t planning on stopping anytime soon – after all, if you’re going to hit it, you’ve got to hit it until it breaks.

 

The news that brought Tooru out of the almost too comfortable bubble of daily life as it had become at Aoba Jousai – waking up, going to school, playing volleyball, studying for exams and trying to win over Iwaizumi – wasn’t exactly the kind he had hoped for. He had hoped for Iwaizumi to suddenly one day cave in and kiss him, but the shock came in the shape of coach Irihata, not exactly kissing him, (not that Tooru had a problem with missing _that_ experience) but by announcing the news that they had a practice match with Karasuno the next day.

Tooru wasn’t sure of what to think of it – if he was completely honest, he had been relieved about Karasuno winning against Shiratorizawa, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see his old kouhai and his team succeed even further. Having been scouted for a scholarship after losing the prefectural playoffs had definitely helped on his mood and ill feelings towards Karasuno as well, but that didn’t mean he was exactly _for_ the idea of practicing with Karasuno before the nationals when it was evident that the main reason was for Karasuno to be as prepared as possible. Tooru didn’t care if they won or not. He didn’t even want them to. Yet, he agreed to the practice match anyway – or at least, he didn’t refuse to play when the coaches told them – and he only hoped that they could at least win it so he could regain a bit of his pride, knowing that they had a chance to win the rematch. Surprisingly, the team had actually grown exponentially after the loss, especially with Kyouken finding his spot in the team, some of the first years having gone to a training camp and even the third years hadn’t slacked off, all of them hoping to continue playing in university.

Of course, Tooru agreeing to the game didn’t mean that he _enjoyed_ the idea of it and when lunch came along, his frustration had decided to materialize as a desperate need for intimacy, but Iwaizumi seemed just as frustrated and very much _not_ in the mood to let Tooru get too close.

“Iwa-chaaan, this would be a very good time for you to give up and kiss me,” Tooru said, sighing as he put his head on Iwaizumi’s shoulder again. Iwaizumi simply shook his shoulder, tipping Tooru’s head off in the motion. Tooru straightened up, pouting at Iwaizumi, but was surprised to see him smile when he did. Iwaizumi leaned in and clapped him on the shoulder instead, still offering him that pretty much irresistible smile.

“We should probably focus on that practice match instead,” Iwaizumi said, raising an eyebrow. Of course, that was the perfect time for Tooru to realise just how close they were; Iwaizumi seemed to notice at the same time, instantly leaning back but still smiling. He was right of course – Tooru had to focus on the match – but he still couldn’t help but notice that _something_ had shifted in their relationship, if only slightly.

 

On the day of the practice match, Tooru had felt slightly anxious during his classes, but at least he could calm himself with knowing that it would be held at Aoba Jousai, meaning that it was Karasuno that had to go to their school, which was a huge relief to him. Tooru found himself significantly less nervous than he had expected as well, even having gotten a whole four hours of sleep down after rewatching the match Karasuno won against Shiratorizawa again once, then talking to Iwaizumi on the phone and doing his homework, since he also had exams to think of now.

When Karasuno arrived, there wasn’t much small talk between the teams, the rivalry being too strong for them to really converse as friends, but when the battle began, it still felt significantly different from their fated last match where Tooru had had to go home empty handed – this time the teasing, both directed against people’s own team and the other – seemed less affected by pressure or ill will.

That didn’t make Tooru feel better about losing the first set, though. Especially Karasuno’s number ten and eleven had changed since their battle in the prelims – that annoying shrimp was just as quick as before, working with Tobio as if they had a mental link. Their sync was different from how Tooru and Iwaizumi worked, trust and familiarity being the key in their relationship. The tall, usually bored middle blocker with glasses, though, seemed to have gotten a blood thirst of his own and while Tooru felt surprisingly more happy for him than he had expected, it was _not_ a positive thing when he was still standing at the opposite side of the net.

“Earth to Oikawa,” Mattsun said and Tooru looked up, realising that the rest of the team were trying to make up a plan for the second set.

“Are you kidding me,” Iwaizumi said, pronouncing the words in a way that made it obvious that he wasn’t asking a question, rolling his eyes at Tooru while saying so. Tooru pouted, walking over next to him and turned his full attention to the team again.

“Okay, we have to win over this set – are you with me?” Tooru asked, having no trouble with keeping his voice calm and confident despite the nerves that were building up. The team nodded before scrambling apart, some returning to the sideline, others walking over to their spots, but before Tooru could move, Iwaizumi grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

“Hey, Oikawa?” he asked, quietly enough that only Tooru could hear. Karasuno were getting ready as well and Tooru wondered what was so important that he wanted to tell it just before the second set started.

”I’ll let you kiss me when we win,” Iwaizumi said, his voice slightly deeper than usual, before turning around and walking over to the spot he was supposed to stand, not giving Tooru enough time to both process the word and read his expression. Tooru stared after him, closing his mouth after a moment when he realised that he was gaping.

He didn’t miss the fact that Iwaizumi had said _when,_ not if – because Iwaizumi trusted him. One hundred percent – probably more than Tooru trusted Iwaizumi, if that was even possible. And not only did he trust him – he had also indirectly told Tooru what he had desperately tried to make him say for the last couple of weeks – that he was also interested in something _more_.

The piercing sound of the whistle blowing, signalling that second set was starting, pulled Tooru out of his thoughts and he quickly returned all of his attention to the game – he had to win it.

And he was going to.

After Iwaizumi’s ‘words of encouragement’ Tooru easily went into the zone, concentrating one hundred percent on the ball. It suddenly seemed just slightly easier for him to see the opponent’s actions before they were carried out, the movement of the ball just slightly slower than usual, giving him time to adjust himself to play to the utmost of his abilities and everything just seemed to be working more effectively. The rest of the team also seemed to have picked up on the change of mood as well, following his lead like an orchestra, Tooru being the conductor.

After one extremely well performed spike, Iwaizumi landed elegantly on his feet, staring at the hand he had just spiked with, then looking up at Tooru in wonder. Tooru smirked back, probably oozing of just as much confidence as he was suddenly feeling.

Seijou ended up leading the second set too – not by many points, but by enough to keep the game going in their favour. The slight discouragement he noticed in the players on the other side of the net fuelled his fire even further.

They were at match point when it was Tooru’s turn to serve again. He grabbed the ball, his palm sweaty and his fingers long enough to hold it up with the ball turned downward from him. He felt more powerful and ready than he had in a long time and normally, he’d probably turn his attention towards the opposing team – preferably Tobio – before serving, but this time he waited for Iwaizumi to turn and look at him as he took a deep breath, getting in the right set. When Iwaizumi finally did turn, Tooru stepped back and got in position, locking his eyes with him just as he was ready. Tooru winked before returning his attention to the ball, throwing it in the air, the motion feeling so familiar and right, then stepping forward and leaping into the air himself, sending the ball hurling towards the other side of the net.

It hit the floor with a resounding noise that seemed to echo through the whole gym – as the bell whistled, this time signalling _end_ of second set, also making Seijou the winners of it, his team _finally_ broke into shouts of victory, but the joy barely lasted a minute as an even louder ringing broke out in the room, followed by the sprinklers in the ceiling turning on.

“Where’s the fire?” The shrimp from Karasuno asked and most other people, Tooru included, had already scanned the room for dangers but found none.

“Well, kids, we have to follow procedure and evacuate in case of danger,” Coach Mizuguchi yelled, trying to talk clear enough for everyone to hear it over the sound of the alarm ringing. He had walked out into the middle of the room, using the clipboard he had been holding as cover from the sprinklers that were already pretty much drenching all players in water.

Everyone started walking towards the entrance, getting in line to walk out calmly, whereas Tooru rather started moving towards the back of the line, looking around to find Iwaizumi – when almost everyone were out the room, Tooru felt a tugging from behind his shirt and, when he realised the source, let Iwaizumi pull him inside the gym again as everyone else had left.

“Hey,” Iwaizumi said as Tooru turned around, smiling softly at him. The water had already completely drenched his hair and a tiny drop of water hung from one of his lashes. “Does the winner want his prize?” Iwaizumi asked and Tooru’s eyes flew open as he realised what Iwaizumi was referring to. Before he could reply, though, he was pulled into a kiss, their teeth accidentally hitting with an uncomfortable ‘click’, but none of them seemed to mind as they greedily kissed each other harder, arms grabbing desperately as if they needed to be closer than they already were – Tooru didn’t feel bad about this, he had been waiting for too long already. He didn’t need to wait anymore and he didn’t care about the water drenching them, the inexperienced kiss or the fact that they were supposed to go outside right now. They were finally together, finally alone.

Until Matsukawa so rudely interrupted them. “Guys, I don’t want to disturb whatever you got going on,” Matsukawa said, chuckling and sounding like he did not have a problem with doing so at all. Tooru and Iwaizumi awkwardly parted, turning to look at him. “But we should go out – this fire alarm thing seems kind of serious.”

It wasn’t – Tooru followed Matsukawa out, or, more specifically, Iwaizumi followed Mattsun out, dragging Tooru by his collar, too deep in a daze to move by himself, after him. After half an hour where students that still had club activities in the afternoon were let out of the school and teachers plus coaches discussing, they technically got allowed to return to the game. Problem was that the gym floor was now completely wet from the sprinklers having started and they’d need to sweep the floor before being able to continue.

After only a few minuets of discussing, Karasuno’s coach – and the teacher with glasses who obviously didn’t know much about volleyball – came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for them to be able to continue and still get back to their school in time, so it was decided between the coaches that this match had been a tie, to which all of the players were surprisingly okay with. Tooru assumed it was because they just wanted to change out of their drenched uniforms, but he even found himself too happy to really be that desperate for winning a match that didn’t mean anything anyway. The players shook hands, captains last, and Karasuno quickly changed and returned home, leaving the Seijou-players to sweep the gym clean, even though Tooru suspected that the cleaning staff probably were supposed to do it, but he wasn’t about to argue with his coaches about that. He looked up to see Iwaizumi already staring at him and smiled back, feeling the burn in his cheeks as it dawned on him – Iwaizumi had kissed him. There was one battle that he had won that day.

 

☆☆☆

 

“Iwa-chan, what is it that was so important that you couldn’t tell me on our way home from practice?” Tooru asked, as he walked over to the school gates where Iwaizumi stood waiting, looking down at something in his hand, but smiling at Tooru when he heard him coming over.

“I promise, it’s important,” Iwaizumi said, smiling excitedly as Tooru walked over, only making his curiosity grow even further.

It was a beautiful afternoon. Ideal, really – the cherry blossoms had sprung the day before and the soft pink petals on the trees gave the street and schoolyard a whole new look, making it look like something out of an idealized shoujo manga, except it was real and probably even more beautiful.

“Well, is it going to be today or?” Tooru teased when Iwaizumi still hadn’t told him, but Iwaizumi was waiting until he had arrived completely. When Tooru was finally placed next to him, Iwaizumi threw the thing he had in his hand on the ground – it was just a pink flower petal like the ones that were already there and Tooru didn’t really pay it any mind.

“I’m in love with you,” Iwaizumi breathed out, smiling at Tooru in a way that made his mind freeze as much as the words he had just uttered.

“H-huh?” Tooru asked, voice cracking. Iwaizumi grabbed his hand and when Tooru found out how to move his limbs again, he gave Iwaizumi’s hand a tiny squeeze as he looked up, still confused. Why would Iwaizumi say that? They were already dating as far as he knew.

“I felt like I owed you that,” Iwaizumi said and Tooru nodded. Then Iwaizumi leaned in slowly, perching his lips for a kiss – but this time, Tooru wouldn’t let him. He turned to walk away, unable to break out in a huge smile when doing so – giving Iwaizumi a taste of his own medicine. He didn’t get far, though, before a hand grabbed his upper arm and turned him around, their lips colliding a little rougher than intended, probably. Tooru chuckled into the kiss, leaning back after a while, remembering that they were in public.

“I feel the same,” Tooru said, smiling at his boyfriend, happy to know that they _both_ felt the same, this time more aware of his surroundings. “I wanted to be the one who confessed in the cherry blossom season, though,” he said, pouting in fake disappointment.

“We can wait until next year if you want to,” Iwaizumi proposed as a joke, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh hell no, you’re not gonna make me wait a second longer for you,” Tooru said, this time being the one initiating the slightly too rushed but still very much enjoyable kiss.


End file.
